Procuring the
US
visa
THE Embassy of the United States of America’s latest defence of the home government’s statutory rules on visa issuance in Nigeria should, to some extent, assuage the feelings of aggrieved applicants who allege deliberate official policy to delay, restrict or block access to the U.S.
U.S Consular chief in Nigeria, Stephen Frahm, at a
briefing on the department’s activities, had cited the law of demand and supply
as well as poor planning by many applicants as being largely responsible for
visa delays. Increasing demand, rather than deliberate attempt to shut out
genuine applicants, he explained, put pressure on official capacity to handle
the traffic daily.
Specifically, he touched on the ignorance of some
government officials or individuals who hold the view that the cover of a
diplomatic Note Verbale is a guarantee for instant visa. Such persons should
understand that the document in support of an application must still be
subjected to U.S immigration laws. Frahm is right that “a note verbale does not
change those requirements.” In response to insinuations that some visa holders
were being embarrassingly turned back, he said “a visa is not a permission to
be in the U.S but to go to the U.S.”
Frahm’s arguments can hardly be faulted. There are
rules and norms in diplomatic circles governing the issuance of entry permit to
foreign nationals into a country. The U.S is not an exception. An applicant is
therefore obliged to obey the rules, or conform to acceptable norms.
Applicants are often the problem. They are their own
worst enemies while filing papers for assessment on their eligibility. It is a
fact that desperation to relocate from the shores of the country due to one
reason or the other has, time and again, prompted many citizens to supply false
information to the embassy, which data are subsequently used to disqualify them
from obtaining visas.
As in many areas of national life, the discipline
needed to file required information and data is often missing. For instance,
stories abound of abuse of diplomatic passports that ought to be the exclusive
preserve of diplomats accredited abroad. Too many official passports are in
wrong hands. Nowadays, unauthorised persons get access to the travel document
by questionable means. Such persons thereby constitute danger and embarrassment
to the country, besides putting its image at risk in the international
community.
It is curious that a diplomatic note verbale, which
is supposed to be issued by only the Foreign Affairs Ministry, has become so
easy a document to source. This peddling
and racketeering of the official paper is deplorable. Government officials in
charge of issuance must be more pain staking to ensure that only accredited or
worthy citizens have access to the document.
The level to which the image of the country has sunk
in the international community in the past couple of years is bad enough. Every
citizen should be a partaker in the new project to shore up the image, in the
interest of the country and the travelling public.
However, these shortcomings should not warrant the
hardship and undignified treatment many applicants are subjected to whenever
they request for visas. Aside of the dishonest few, majority of Nigerians are
law abiding, and deserve prompt attention and good service within reasonable
time.
The consular chief’s claim of demand outstripping
supply should not arise. With its enormous technological resources, the U.S. cannot
regard 600 applications the consular deals with per day as overwhelming. The
department can take more applications, by reviewing its operations to cope with
the excess demand in the circumstance. After all, Nigeria’s population is not as high
as that of some other countries whose nationals are being served without
complaints.
Nigerians should be circumspect too. Applicants are
required to be truthful in their presentations to enhance the success chances
of their applications. Besides emergency
cases, consular officials deserve enough processing time, to avoid congestion
and unnecessary pressure on them.
Respect should be reciprocal for either party –
applicants and embassy officials. The elite and other citizens seeking visas
should always exhibit self-respect, in deference to immigration laws.
The country must put its house in order if it wants
its citizens to command respect from embassy officials, no matter how difficult
a few of them may prove. It is important for government to control issuance of
classified documents governed by international laws.
Additionally, Nigerian leaders at every level need to
consciously address the seeming exodus of her nationals to other countries.
Obviously, the desire to migrate away from the country would not be so high if
internal conditions are more tolerable. Good governance is the answer. Leaders
should work hard towards making life more bearable for the teeming population,
failing which Nigerians will remain inclined to find solace elsewhere in the
world.
Guardian Editorial
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